Kelly Wallace offers a primer on internet, social media, and texting acronyms for clueless parents:
Acronyms are widely popular across the Internet, especially on social media and texting apps, because, in some cases, they offer a shorthand for communication that is meant to be instant.
So “LMK” — let me know — and “WYCM” — will you call me? — are innocent enough.
But the issue, especially for parents, is understanding the slang that could signal some dangerous teen behavior, such as “GNOC,'” which means “get naked on camera.”
And it certainly helps for a parent to know that “PIR” means parent in room, which could mean the teen wants to have a conversation about things that his or her mom and dad might not approve of.
Wallace asked Internet safety expert Katie Greer what parents can do to keep up with all the new acronyms. Greer says to go to the source:
“It’s a lot to keep track of,” Greer said. Parents can always do a Google search if they stumble upon a phrase they aren’t familiar with, but the other option is asking their children, since these phrases can have different meanings for different people.
“Asking kids not only gives you great information, but it shows that you’re paying attention and sparks the conversation around their online behaviors, which is imperative.”
Read Wallace’s “28 Internet acronyms every parent should know” here.